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Will returned from walking the dogs and hung up his coat, unleashing the dogs and putting their leashes on the table by the door before walking over to the kitchen where Hannibal was working on dinner. Matt and Frank would be coming over in a half hour, and by the smell and look of it, Hannibal was right on schedule.
"Anything I can help with?" Will asked as he gripped the edge of the island, watching Hannibal move between pots and pans with practiced ease.
Hannibal shook his head slightly, "Not tonight, I am afraid I am almost finished. However you could set the dishes at the island."
Will nodded, going over to their cabinet and taking out the dishes and silverware they would need for dinner before going to the other side of the island and starting to set it as he knew Hannibal appreciated. He doubled back for wine glasses, bringing them over and setting them down gently.
Not having a proper dining room with table was one of the things that Will knew Hannibal mourned about their new life in the city. While they had a nice, decent sized apartment for New York City, it was still New York City and compact living was a way of life.
Will went to the fridge and got out the home cooked dog food he had made in bulk earlier in the week and put the container on the counter, laughing when three wet noses started nuzzling his thighs.
"Hold on, hold on." He said, getting their bowls from the floor and filling each with a serving before replacing them to the floor. The dogs quickly dove for their bowls and started eating as Will put the container back into the fridge.
Will wiped the counter clean where he had the dog bowls before, then heard a knock at the door. He looked at the clock on the wall, seeing they were right on time.
Will walked over and opened the door with a smile, seeing Frank and Matt. "Hey, guys. Come in." He stepped out of the way, opening the door further.
Frank walked in first and was followed by Matt, Will shutting the door behind them. They took their coats off, Will taking them and hanging them by the door.
"Hello Frank, Matt. Thank you for joining us tonight." Hannibal said from the kitchen as the three walked over. "I will be plating dinner in a moment if you are ready to eat, the meat is resting at the moment."
Frank nodded, sniffing the air. "Smells fantastic, Doc. What is it?"
Hannibal chuckled as he took their four dishes and started plating the food, "Normally I would wait until the dish is served, but if you must ruin the surprise... Lamb chops with a balsamic reduction glaze, served over a bed of farro, mushroom, walnut pilaf with brussel sprouts pan fried with bacon."
Frank whistled in surprise as he sat at the furthest seat and pulled out the chair next to him for Matt, who folded his cane before sitting. "That sounds fancy."
Matt nodded, "I agree, you didn't tell us you were a chef in you past time."
Hannibal smiled, "Cooking is a passion of mine. I have very refined senses, and take great care with what I put into my body."
Will took out a bottle of wine from the rack on the side of the island and sat it on the counter for Hannibal, knowing he would like to open and serve it, before sitting next to Matt.
Hannibal handed each of them their plates, handing Frank Matt's plate to be placed in front of him and Will his own plate which Will put in front of the last seat of the island. He then uncorked the wine, scenting the cork for a moment before pouring his glass. Going behind them, he took Will's glass and poured for him. He then stepped behind the two guests.
"Matt, Frank, may I interest you in some wine to accompany the dinner?"
Matt nodded with a smile, taking his glass and holding it in Hannibal's direction, "Sure, thank you." Hannibal took the glass and poured, handing it back to Matt.
Frank, on the other hand, put his hand over his open glass and slightly shook his head. "No thanks, Doc. Dulls the senses." Matt huffed at that but said nothing.
Hannibal nodded, "May I get you water then? Or perhaps pomegranate juice? I'm afraid we don't have much else."
Frank nodded, handing him his glass, "Water, thanks."
Hannibal took the glass and filled it with filtered water from the fridge before passing it back across the island, then sat at his seat. "Do let me know what you think," he said as he picked up his fork and knife, the others following suit and starting to eat.
After the first bite, Matt's brows creased in thought but he kept eating anyway. Frank on the other hand laughed, "You sure you're not secretly a chef, Doc? This is fantastic."
Will chuckled at his enthusiasm, looking to Hannibal as he swallowed his food, "It is good, Hannibal."
Matt nodded, "Do you always cook such complex dishes? Or just when having guests over."
Will smiled, "Even a simple bacon and eggs breakfast gets elevated, quite honestly. He doesn't do mundane."
Matt smiled at the fondness in Will's voice, "Do you cook as well, Will?" He sipped his wine, humming in appreciation of its smoothness.
Will quickly shook his head, "Me? No. I can cook fresh caught fish, and dog food. That's about it."
"The dogs haven't complained yet, at least." Hannibal added. Matt and Frank both laughed and continued eating.
Soon enough they all had finished eating, Will taking their empty dishes and dirty silverware and bringing them to the sink. As he started washing them, Hannibal turned in his seat towards Matt and Frank. "Shall we move to the couches to be more comfortable? Will would still be within earshot of us, of course. And we can finish the wine when he rejoins us."
Matt nodded, standing and unfolding his cane before taking his wine glass from the island's counter and making his way over to the couch. Matt sat down and took a sip from his glass, his cane between his knees leaning on his shoulder. Hannibal had quietly noticed all the while that his movements had a grace to them that was uncanny for someone whose pupils didn't react to light.
Frank went over and sat on the couch next to Matt, sitting back with his arms on the back of the couch and his legs spread wide.
Hannibal sat at the couch across from Matt, putting the wine bottle on the table before leaning back and crossed his legs, sipping his glass. "So what occupations do you two preside?"
"I'm an attorney at my own firm, Nelson and Murdock." Matt answered. "We're a small firm, though, just us two with one secretary."
Hannibal nodded, "I see. Do you do defensive or prosecution cases?"
Matt shrugged his shoulders a bit, "Mostly defensive, though some prosecution. Whichever is on the right side of justice. We also do a large amount of pro-bono cases."
Hannibal sipped his wine and nodded, "Very honorable of you. I imagine that must be very satisfying work." He looked to Frank, "And you, Frank?"
Frank shrugs a bit, "I take out the trash of the underworld in this city. I don't usually go around telling people that, heck I'm not even supposed to be in NYC anymore, but that's how I met Blue so no point in lying."
Hannibal raised a brow, looking between the two of them, "If one of you is serving justice as a vigilante while the other is serving justice in the court system, that must be a complex dynamic to meet in the middle with for a relationship."
They both blushed, but Matt nodded, turning his face in the direction of Frank, "I would definitely say there's been some compartmentalization on both our parts." Frank snorted a bit at that.
Will finally joined them with his wine glass, sitting next to Hannibal and leaned into his side and Hannibal's arm snaking around his waist. "We can relate to that."
"So what do you two do for work?" Matt asked curiously before finishing his wine, sitting the glass on the table carefully.
"I work down on the docks repairing boat and yacht engines, and Hannibal works as an art curator." Will answered with practiced ease.
Matt raised a brow, "Forgive me for being rude, but you can afford this apartment on that?"
Will swallowed, both his and Hannibal's shoulders tensed, but Frank interjected before Will could reply, "Aren't you guys in WPP? I'm guessing you did something before you worked on boats and art galleries."
Will and Hannibal relaxed a bit, Will nodding as Hannibal drank his wine. "I used to teach and be a consultant for the FBI. Hannibal was a psychiatrist who also consulted for the FBI."
Frank nodded, "Got in too deep, I'm guessing, and had to change identities?"
Will nodded, "Yeah." He didn't elaborate further, which made Matt's brow crease slightly.
Matt wasn't sure what it was. Will wasn't necessarily lying, he could tell that much, but he wasn't telling the full truth either. Then again, Matt wasn't about to out himself as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen to their new friends, so he didn't pry.
"I have to admit, your stitches made me think you were a medical doctor not a shrink, and a good one at that, Doc." Frank laughed.
Hannibal's lips twitched to almost a smile, "I was, in my youth. But those days are long behind me, I'm afraid."
"Not long enough, it seems. You were well stocked for the situation." Matt commented.
Hannibal chuckled, "Yes, well, luckily for Frank I believe in being prepared for everything. One cannot be too careful."
Will finished his wine and took the bottle, pouring them all another glass, finishing the bottle. "So, how did you two meet, anyway?"
Frank clenched his jaw and looked to Matt, noticeably tense, but Matt smiled.
"Our relationship developing is technically a conflict of interest, but he was one of my pro-bono cases at one point." Matt answered.
Frank nodded, clearing his throat as he relaxed. Will and Hannibal had both schooled their faces to not react to Frank's tension. They could tell there was more to this story, but neither would pry.
Frank look to Will, "What about you two?"
Will smiled and looked to Hannibal, sipping the wine before speaking, "We met through the consulting, though we didn't act on our feelings for about four years."
Matt laughed a little at that, "A slow burn romance, huh."
"One could say that." Hannibal said and drank his wine.
One of the dogs pattered over over and nosed Matt's hand, who petted him with a smile. "Frank tells me that you two had six dogs at one point?"
Will nodded, "We re-homed three of them so far. As much as I'd love to keep all three we have left, city life makes more sense to re-home them down to one."
Frank laughed, "I bet you miss living in Virginia then, when you had seven dogs. What ever happened to them?"
Hannibal eyed Will but said nothing as Will smiled sadly, "When we moved on from our old lives, I left them behind with my ex-wife. They're living a good life with her, I imagine. She was always good with them."
Frank raised a brow, "You didn't leave her for Doc did you, Blue?" He asked curiously.
Will shrugged a bit, "I chose Hannibal over her, if that's what you mean. But I knew Hannibal before her. It was always Hannibal."
Matt raised a brow at that, "That's an oddly romantic statement."
Will's lips twitched to a smile, looking to Hannibal, "I guess so."
Hannibal smiled as he looked to Will, "We ran away from our old lives together, I would hope you'd have some kind of romantic notion towards me." Will chuckled and finished his wine, putting his glass down.
Frank chuckled, Matt finished his wine and put his glass down, looking to Frank. "What time is it, Frank?"
Frank pulled out his phone and checked the time, "It's a little after eight p.m."
Matt nodded, looking back to Hannibal and Will as he stood. "As much as I've enjoyed tonight, tomorrow I have an early start. We have to get going."
Hannibal and Will both nodded, standing as well. Hannibal smiled to them, "That is understandable. Thank you for sharing our table tonight, it was a pleasure."
Frank stood as well, "Thanks, Doc. Blue."
Will leads the two of them to the front door, handing them their coats then opens it, "Call me sometime soon and we'll do it again, okay?"
Frank lead the way, nodding, Matt following, "We will."
Will closes the door after them then goes to the window, watching until after they had hailed a cab and left.
Hannibal was picking up the wine glasses from the table when Will looked over to him, "They're hiding things from us."
"We're hiding things from them." Hannibal countered as he brought the wine glasses into the kitchen and started washing them.
"I'm going to look into Matt and Frank tonight. See what I can find." Will said as he brought the empty wine bottle into the kitchen, dropping it into the trash can.
"That may be beneficial if we intend on maintaining our friendship with them." Hannibal agreed as he continued washing the glasses.
Will came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, pressing close to him and sighed, his forehead on Hannibal's shoulder. "What if I find something we don't like?"
"We can always leave, Will. We just need to be careful."